The Australian Institute of Criminology recently released Statistics on Juvenile Detention in Australia: 1981-2002. This paper provides a statistical overview of juvenile detention from 1981 to 2002, with a detailed review of the financial year 2001-02. At 30 June 2002, the rate of detention for Indigenous juveniles in Australia was 256.7 per 100,000 relevant population*, while the rate for non-Indigenous juveniles was 13.6 per 100,000 relevant population*. This means that Indigenous juveniles were approximately 19 times more likely to be detained in Australian detention facilities than non-Indigenous juveniles in June 2002. However, since 1994, both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous rates of detention have reduced comparatively, with the Indigenous rate reducing by 62 per cent and the rate of detention for non-Indigenous youth reducing by 56 per cent.
Persons aged 10 to 17 in juvenile detention by Indigenous status, 1994-2002 [see attached PDF for graph]
Source
- Bareja M. & Charlton K. 2003, Statistics on juvenile detention in Australia: 1981-2002, Technical and background paper no. 5 Australian Institute of Criminology Canberra.